Thursday 24 September 2015

THE TRIANGLE AND KATE'S DREAM



The Triangle: 
According to the phone ping lists (1) on the 19th July, one day before Mark Harrison (the national search advisor of the NPIA, who organised the search by the world renowned sniffer dogs Eddie and Keela with their handler Martin Grimes) reached Portugal,  the McCanns start to visit a triangle between Budens, Raposeira and Sagres. This activity stopped on the 2nd August,  the day of the dog searches in their villa and one day prior to their visit to Huelva. These visits gain even more importance from the fact that Gerry drives to this area on the day he returns from Washington on the 26th July on his way straight from the airport.  Apart from one family outing in June they had never before visited that area and did not visit it after this cluster on 19th, 26th, 27th, 28th July, 1st, 2nd August.
It is interesting that neither Gerry's blog nor Kate's diary/book nor media reports cover these visits which all took place in the late afternoon/early evening except for the 1st August when they returned to Praia da Luz after 22:00.

26-07-2007:  Gerald Patrick McCann’s mobile triggers the following attenae:
16.42  Faro Aeroporto
17.31  Pedra de Agua
17.32  Bolqueime
19.05  Vila do Bispo
19.10  Budens 
19.49  Praia da Luz Centro

Between Budens and PdL there are about 25 minutes unaccounted for after travelling time between the two locations is subtracted. 
The  25 minute delay is  probably because he was on the phone to Jon Corner for 24 minutes from 19.10. (see comments)





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Kate’s dream:
From ‘madeleine’ chapter 13 The Tide Turns:
(Danie Krugel’s team and his ‘matter orientation machine’ had arrived on the 15th and on the 18th there was a meeting with the PJ and the McCanns)(2)
Danie Krugel, [..] had produced a report for the PJ based on his findings. His machine had recorded a static signal from an area around the beach, close to or on the Rocha Negra cliff. [..] the implication of the ‘static signal’ was that Madeleine was most likely to be dead and buried there.’ unquote
chapter 14:  Warning Sirens
If 18 July was the date I now identify as a turning point, the following Monday, 23 July was the day when the warning sirens should have started to sound. [..]
That evening I phoned  Ricardo Paiva to ask for his help with a couple of letters I needed to have translated. [..] I distinctly remember him saying, ‘Our investigation will be changing direction.’  Danie Krugel’s report had given them a bit of a jolt he told me.  unquote
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It seems that Kate  had form in contacting Ricardo Paiva late at night: (Gerry isn’t mentioned in this post yet he did not leave for the UK until the 19th): 

SUNDAY, JUNE 17: On Sky News tonight they suddenly said the Portuguese police had stated that the crime scene had been contaminated' because of us' and that fundamental evidence had been lost. How dare they insinuate that our daughter's life could be put in danger because of us. Very angry. Very upset.
I want to speak to someone now, but it's too late.
I changed my mind and I sent a text message to Ricardo (Portuguese police family liaison officer). I don't know if was a sensible idea but I feel really annoyed.   [..]I fell asleep after 1am. unquote
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Gerry and the dream: (3)

12th January 2010:
During the McCanns attempt to have Amaral's book banned Ricardo Paiva gave evidence of a telephone call made by Kate, while Gerry was absent.   He said that Mrs McCann told him in a tearful telephone conversation in late July 2007 that she had dreamt that Madeleine was on a hill and that police should search for her there.  

20 JANUARY 2010 | POSTED BY JOANA MORAIS
13th January 2010
An extremely angry Gerry McCann, leaving the Court, and not accompanied by his wife Kate McCann (who left later) had this to say to waiting reporters:
GM: I would like to make absolutely clear that Kate has never had a dream, that Madeleine was buried somewhere. And, I don't know if something has been lost in interpretation, but that didn't happen. 
unquote
See Dr. Robert's analysis in the comments: Paiva never used the word 'buried'.
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This episode is full of interesting facts. 
28/6 The McCanns asked for Dannie Krugel.  They obtained hairs from Madeleine, including eyelash hairs - eyelashes don’t shed hairs that much and why could  these not have been given to the PJ when they asked for DNA?  Would at the time not give full spectrum but certainly useful for the investigation. 
18/7 Dannie Krugel gives in his report and states that Maddie is somewhere near  a cliff called Rocha Negra. 
20/7 Mark Harrison, the National Search Advisor of the NPIA was on his way to Portugal to assist the PJ with the planned search by the CSI dogs. 
22/7 Gerry leaves for USA. 
23/7 Kate phones Paiva about her dream that Maddie is on a cliff. 
26/7 Gerry returns but appears to have some urgent business in the triangle area before he returns to Praia da Luz. 
In Chapter 14 of ‘madeleine’, Kate tells us she phoned Paiva  on the 23rd about a letter she needed to be translated. This allows for a ‘misunderstanding’  and leaves the phonecall  in place. Very useful, in case there was a record of such a call from Kate to Paiva that evening/night. Making the subject translation allows for the content of the call to have been misunderstood by Paiva. Very neat.  Here is the exact wording: 
That evening I phoned Ricardo Paiva to ask for his help with a couple of letters I needed to have translated. He sounded strange, distant; certainly not his usual self.
It is quite possible that Kate never told Gerry about the phone call to Paiva. 
Overall, it looks as if  things were unravelling in July. Having asked for Krugel to come over  as early as late June - with a ridiculous story about his machine and their desperate wish to believe him which doesn’t ring true - Kate says they (she and Gerry) are scientists but were willing to believe Krugel. 
That Danie Krugel’s report had given the PJ a jolt is hard to believe. They already knew, having checked with a UK university for good measure, that it was a snake oil contraption so to speak. Possibly it makes the McCanns look better to give the impression that  the PJ were also on board with Krugel. 
The PJ were busy with Mark Harrison however and with the CSI dogs, about which the book is fairly silent in July and early August. They don’t make an appearance until Chapters 14 and 15. 
Outside the Lisbon Court on the 13th of January 2010  Gerry also said : 
Gerry McCann: The most important thing yesterday was what the prosecutor said, there's absolutely no evidence that Madeleine is dead. unquote

A report by Chief Inspector Tavares de Almeida to the Coordinator of the Criminal Investigation
10 September 2007
(Processo: VOL ,X, p. 2587-2602)

Despite everything, until a certain time in the investigation the family sustained the thesis of kidnapping. However, in a date that cannot be precise it was suggested to the family that they should consult a person that could, eventually, indicate the probable place where the cadaver of little Madeleine could be found.

This fact became inexplicable to the elements of the investigation once it were the members of the family that raised the hypothesis of death of little Maddie.

Nevertheless, before the Media they kept (and keep) declaring their hope on finding their daughter alive
: the first time that the hypothesis of the death of the little girl was raised it was, effectively, suggested by the McCann.
unquote

- and that appears to be exactly where we are eight years later.  
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(1) The triangle shows up in the phone records on page 57:
and:

(2) From ‘madeleine’: Chapter 12:   [..]on 28 June, we tentatively raised the possibility of bringing in Danie Krugel, a South African ex-police officer who claimed to have combined DNA and satellite tracking technology to develop a device that could be used to locate missing persons.
[..]  We were told all we needed to do was to provide samples of Madeleine’s DNA. [..] We even managed to turn a blind eye to the fact that Danie’s ‘matter orientation system’ hadn’t been formally tested by any independent and trustworthy authority. Danie sounded like a nice person (family man, ‘fellow Christian’), and indeed he was. So, in the second week of June, we had confided in Auntie Janet and our friend Amanda back in Leicestershire and got them to go round to our house looking for hairs that could only be Madeleine’s. They came up with five head hairs from the inside
of a coat hood and a couple of eyelashes from her pillow and couriered the lot off to Danie in South Africa. A week or so afterwards, Danie informed us that he had obtained ‘signals’ relating to Praia da Luz, but that he would need to come over in July and operate the machine in the Algarve to produce more accurate results and pinpoint Madeleine’s location. So here we were now, discussing all this with Luís Neves and Guilhermino Encarnação. Somewhat to our surprise, they seemed quite amenable to giving it a go and agreed to smooth Danie’s transfer through the airport (he had certain
requirements to ensure the safety of his MOS machine) in a couple of weeks’ time.
We flew back to Portugal early on the morning of Sunday 15 July – the day Danie Krugel, his team and his ‘matter orientation system’ arrived in Praia da Luz. He gave us some fairly vague information about the procedure and reaffirmed his machine’s 80 per cent success rate. He wouldn’t let us see any of the equipment because of the necessity to ‘protect his trade secrets’
while he awaited a patent.
Chapter 13:
Danie Krugel, on whom we had, irrationally, hung so much hope, had produced a report for the PJ based on his findings. His machine had recorded a ‘static signal’ from an area around the beach, close to or on the Rocha Negra cliff. Although this included villas, apartments and other buildings, the implication of the ‘static signal’ was that Madeleine was most likely to be dead and buried there.  unquote

(3) Police Inspector Ricardo Paiva, who acted as a liaison between the McCanns and Portuguese detectives in the days following their daughter’s disappearance, said the dream was a "turning point" in the investigation.
He said that Mrs McCann told him in a tearful telephone conversation in late July 2007 that she had dreamt that Madeleine was on a hill and that police should search for her there.
The claims came as Kate and Gerry McCann appeared in court to hear evidence on the first day of a hearing to challenge the publication of a book written by Algarve detective Goncalo Amaral.
Insp Paiva told the hearing in Lisbon: “Kate called me, she was alone as Gerry was away and she was crying.
She said she had dreamt that Madeleine was on a hill and that we should search for her there.”

“She gave the impression that she thought she was dead – it was a turning point for us.”
The senior detective said the land was searched but nothing was found. “That is when we decided to send the specialist dogs in. British police informed us about how they could detect the scent of death.”
He admitted that the police had been suspicious of the McCanns from the start of the investigation.
Insp Paiva added: “They disobeyed our request to keep quiet about the details of their daughter’s disappearance while we conducted our investigation. Instead they turned it into a media circus and that gave rise to some suspicions.”  unquote


GERRY IN AMERICA


GERRY IN THE USA

Gerry’s blog  
22nd July 2007:
Spent the whole day travelling from the Algarve to Washington where I will be visiting the National and International Center for Missing and Exploited Children and meeting politicians involved in recent legislation on missing children. 
The flights for our campaign manager and myself were kindly donated by an airline. 
unquote

23rd July 2007:
Gerry and Justine McGuinness spend most of the day at the NCMEC. After meeting US Attorney General Gonzales at the Justice Department he finishes the day off with an interview for America’s Most Wanted programme which has 12 million viewers. 

The Attorney General realises he had overdressed for the occasion but is forgiven for his gaffe?

24th July 2007: 
Gerry is back at the NCMEC with interviews being conducted from 6.15 onwards for the five major US TV networks morning news shows.  
From the transcript  of  the interview by‘On the Record’ interviewer Greta Van Susteren.  (1)
VS: Police say the four year old British toddler was kidnapped in Portugal on May 3rd. Her parents are waging an international campaign to find Madeleine and to stop child trafficking. [..]
McCann: I’m very pleased to say that the Attorney General took time out of his incredibly busy schedule to meet with us today. And we had a 40 minute meeting, and we talked about these very issues, about how we can advance legislation. And, I think importantly, Madeleine’s disappearance has already created some discussion at the G-8 summit recently. So it’s becoming more topical. [..] There’s a window of opportunity here to affect change for the better. 
VS: Meeting with the Pope, did that help bring some sort of comfort to you? 
McCann:  Yes, that meeting was incredibly important[..] it did generate a huge amount of awareness of Madeleine’s disappearance [..] and I hope that we can use the goodwill that has come from thousands, and, probably hundreds of thousands of people in response to one very bad act, and use that in a positive way to help other missing children and make the world a little bit safer for all kids if possible. 

That’s not a bad result so far: Gerry McCann has just got quite a few points across, most of them political. Even the G8 get a pat on the back from Gerry. 
Gerry and Kate intend to stop child trafficking.
Gerry had a 40 minute meeting (not like that 60 seconds Pope ‘meeting’) with the Attorney General and  discussed a way to advance legislation. 
The Pope ‘meeting’  will indirectly help to make the world safer for all kids. 
Right, we got that. Onwards to: 

The White House:
Gerry’s blog: 
Late morning we had a visit to the White House to meet with the First Lady’s deputy Chief of Staff Sarah Armstrong.  This visit was facilitated by Lady Catherine Meyer, founder of the British charity PACT which is an affiliate of ICMEC. [..]
I took the opportunity to fill them in on my visit to Washington, particularly the work we are doing with ICMEC and the meeting we had with the attorney general. We finished with a very quick tour of the public areas in the White House [..] and also met one of the Presidents’ Scottish terriers. Immediately following the visit I did a few interviews for the British Media in front of the White House. unquote
The standard tourist shot.


Daily Mail 28th July 2007:
[..] Mr McCann had encountered some unexpectedly hostile questions, notably from Chris Cuomo, the Good Morning America breakfast show anchor.

"Your story is pretty puzzling - it's tough to understand why you and your wife came to leave your children to go to dinner," Cuomo asserted, remarking that no American parent would "leave their kids in that way"

[..]besides highlighting Madeleine's abduction on all four networked TV channels (ABC prefaced its coverage with clips of Brits-of-the-moment J. K. Rowling and David Beckham making appeals for information, there were many other pluses.

Mr McCann visited a world-renowned centre for missing children, where he received advice and consoled himself with uplifting stories about abductions which ended fortuitously.

He lobbied senior statesmen on Capitol Hill, including U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez, who pledged to do all he could. He even met close aides to First Lady Laura Bush. [..]

Later, he told relatives how he received a sloppy, wet "kiss" from Mrs Bush's Scottish terrier, Miss Beazley.

That said, however, watching him assume his unwanted ambassadorial role with such purpose and vigour, it was impossible to avoid contrasting his demeanour with that of his wife, Kate, who waited - forlorn as ever - in the blisteringly hot Algarve. 
unquote

After the globally important issues addressed on the first day, the White House visit isn’t quite so good. Gerry ‘filled them in’  on various important legal matters he’d discussed with the Attorney General the previous day. Something not doubt which Mrs. Bush would have loved to hear, but unfortunately she wasn’t there, neither was her Chief of Staff.  Luckily the Deputy Chief of Staff was there to take it all in and pass it on to the First Lady who - although there is no evidence of her ever having shown a personal interest in the McCanns - is mentioned in all the press articles, often in such a way that it seems Gerry came over on her personal invitation. The visit was in fact arranged by the wife of the ex-ambassador to the U.S. 

The quick tour of the public areas doesn’t sound too special, but getting a kiss from President Bush must have been wonderful!  The closest he got to the President was his dog. But at least Miss Beazley appears to have been enthusiastic about Gerry’s visit. 

Later David Jones from the Daily Mail  used the words ‘ambassadorial role’. It still looked very promising for a future role of - say European Ambassador Amber Alert. 
He also puts Gerry on the same level of fame with Beckham and J.K. Rowling and skips one link in the First Lady connection by making the deputy a ‘close aide’  to Mrs. Bush. It’s all there, political, global, G8, senior statesmen....

Gerry’s blog 25th July 2007:
I had another meeting with another congressman Mike Rogers who is an ex-FBI agent and we distributed wristbands to Nick Lampson and some of his colleagues and well as members of NCMEC. 
This afternoon we had a meeting with the British Ambassador at his residence to update him on our meetings. unquote

The tone here again intimates that Gerry, after he ‘filled in’ the White House staff is updating the Ambassador so that he will more or less know what is going on and what has been arranged between Gerry and these senior statesmen.  

The same evening he flies home - from the Daily Mail, 28th July: ‘On Wednesday evening, Gerry McCann flew back to Portugal after a hectic three day trip to Washington DC - the latest and farthest-flung staging post on his mission to champion the cause of abducted children  [..]
Settling into his sleeper bed in Virgin Upper Class (mindful of the sniping about the £946,000 fund for Madeleine, of which £67,000 has been spent, he bought an economy ticket, but was given a complimentary upgrade) the 39-year old heart consultant was exhausted.  unquote

So, interesting information some days later from the Daily Mail. Gerry is as good as upgraded to ambassador for all children in the world by the popular press. 
His language as always gives the impression he is on equal footing or higher than those he informs - ‘filling in’  and ‘updating’  leaves no space for discussion or advice to be given.

Interesting to read such a specific number for the expenses so far: £67,000. Despite all those free flights. Gerry must have forgotten his blog post from the 22nd when he spoke to David Jones on that Virgin Upper Class flight on the 25th: see above:
'22/7 The flights for our campaign manager and myself were kindly donated by an airline.'


The hagiography in the Daily Mail 28/7/2007 is worth reading if only for the following information: 

Then there was the Look Into My Eyes poster, inviting people to memorise the distinctive 'flash' in Madeleine's right eye.

That was devised by Jon Corner, a friend who runs a media company in Liverpool.

Another friend, Michael Wright, a businessman from Skipton, uses his network of contacts to get funding, and Gerry's brother, pharmaceutical company rep John McCann, helps with strategy.

Madeleine's face is instantly recognisable in dozens of countries, and the reward for information leading to her return stands at £3.2 million.

"It needs only one greedy, unscrupulous character to come forward," said Philomena McCann.  unquote)  

That last remark is richly informative - as are so many that some from that and similar sources. 


Tuesday 22 September 2015

THE THIRD TRIP HOME - 12TH - 15TH JULY 2007

Dr. Gerald McCann returned to the UK for the third  time on the 12th of July 2007. 
This time there were no curious events, such as wallets stolen and returned by a conscience-stricken thief, no lifesaving treatment of a member of the public.  Instead there was a standing ovation by the Police Federation for a man who had lost his daughter, having left her alone with her two siblings in a holiday apartment with the back door unlocked for easy access. (The Sun arranged this award apparently).

Gerry’s blog:  12th July 2007:
[..] I came to London today to meet with the British police and will go to the child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre tomorrow to learn more about their role. 
As I have said previously we want to work closely with the police and child welfare organisations  to help us keep awareness of Madeleines and other childrens’ disappearance high. 
(‘other children’ are now added to the workload, a theme extended  globally to ‘all children’  during his trip  two weeks later to the USA - for the moment the keywords are Europe and ‘all children’).
[..] I was also invited to attend the National Police Federation Annual Bravery Awards tonight.  

GERRY IS HONOURED AT POLICE BRAVERY AWARDS FOR A LIFETIME ( 6 WEEKS OR SO) OF SERVICES TO … MISSING KIDS ... JULY 2007

Retracing our steps to mid-July 2007 and we find ourselves standing alongside hundreds of dumbfounded uniformed officers at the Dorchester Hotel, invited from our seats by senior personnel to applaud one Gerald P McCann at the Police Bravery Awards. First we’d had the poignant video of his daughter, then the speech praising both UK Officers and the Polícia Judiciária, now we had the standing ovation. And for what? Just what were we honouring? Gerry’s contribution to ‘what’ exactly? One of the serving South Yorkshire officers receiving an award there that night described it as one of the most surreal events of his life. Sitting at his table was none other than Gerry McCann [..] And he wasn’t just down on the guest-list; Gerry was guest of honour. (1)

Gerry’s Blog 13th July Friday:
Spent a large part of the day at the child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) headquarters in London. [..] The statistics of child abduction in the UK, both attempted and successful cases, are staggering with over 1000 reported cases in 2003/4 [..] worryingly there does not appear to be reliable statistics for many countries in Europe. Clearly a lot of work has to be done to tackle this growing problem. unquote

He spent some considerable time at CEOP’s headquarters and this may have been the occasion when he was given the Scotland Yard manual which the PJ later found on his bedside table. 
One wonders if Gerry and Jim Gamble also went through some of the 1800 holiday photos sent to the dedicated website. The photos the PJ never got to see. 

Doubtless - with such a heavy schedule - Dr. Gerry forgot to mention another important meeting he attended which must have been on either the 12th or 13th. 

Leveson Enquiry 31/1/2012 the Press Complaints Commission
Sir Christopher Meyer:  ‘What I said to Gerry McCann when I first saw him was that this is what the PCC can do for you, this is how we can help. If you want damages, if it comes to that, we do not do money. The courts do money, so you’re going to have to make a choice’ 
Mr. Jay: To be clear about that, when did you say that to Dr. McCann? 
Sir Christopher Meyer: In July of 2007.
Mr. Jay:  And the circumstances were what? Was it a meeting? 
Sir Christopher Meyer: At my house. 
unquote
Seamlessly the blog moves to the 14th of July without touching on a visit to the PCC . How Kate got herself and the twins to the UK on the 13th and where the devoted pair met up isn’t mentioned, neither is Michael Wright’s one day trip to PdL.
Gerry’s Blog: 14th July 2007 Saturday: 
Kate, the twins and myself attended a family baptism today in Yorkshire where we stood as Godparents. [..]
Gerry’s Blog: 15th July 2007 Sunday
Travelled back to Portugal today on an early morning flight. unquote
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Back in Portugal, Kate wrote some strange lines in her diary: 
12th July 2007: I hate the person who took my Madeleine - the same one who has caused all this trouble, who made us feel worthless and mistrustful and mainly who has frightened my beautiful Madeleine. I will never forgive that person/those people for this. Never.  
Today I washed the Cuddle Cat. I was hoping not to have to do it until Madeleine returns, but it was now quite dirty and smelly, unfortunately without the smell of Madeleine on it. XX 
It is merely my opinion that Kate tells us a lot more than she thinks she does, even though the initial statement is amended. 
She hates the person who took Maddie, who is the same one who has caused more trouble apart from taking Maddie. Adding as an afterthought that  she hates him most for frightening (not taking)  Maddie. A further amendment allows for more than one person, but there is a strong sense of one person who made extra trouble for them, who also made them feel worthless - all this quite apart from taking or frightening Madeleine. It can’t be Murat, because he’s been an arguido for two months. So who is it?
The day before Kate is to leave for the UK she washes Cuddlecat again, at the very least a second time as the first time was about five days after 3/5/07. The emotional connection to the toy seems learned, possibly from the press who may have explained the mother/child scent connection to a wider public than they thought. ‘Washed the Cuddlecat’  is a most peculiar distancing phrase. 
Despite the fact that she collected Michael Wright from the airport that day and the preparations made for the christening  and becoming godparents, there is nothing at all in the diary about this trip or becoming godmother.  
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The trip:
CARTAS ROGATORIAS (FILE 5) pages 66 - 69.
Witness statement of Michael Terence Wright 2008.04.16 
Thursday, 12 July to Friday, 13 July. I travelled alone and returned with Kate and the twins for them to attend the baptism of my own children. I had spoken previously with Gerry by phone and knew that he was in UK in meetings and he asked me to help Kate and the twins so that they could be there. Kate, Gerry and twins returned to Portugal on 15 July.
unquote

However, this episode, which is just a small part of the Rogatory Interview appeared to be of sufficient importance to merit a separate email with just this information:  (Had Inspector Paiva requested this information ahead of the translation? the RI was a week earlier. 

Processos Volume XVI page 4199
Email from Stuart Prior on 23 April 2008 to Ricardo Manuel Gonçalves Paiva

Synopsis re statement of Michael Terrence WRIGHT 16th April 2008

12th July to 13th July he returned with Kate and the twins to attend the christening of his own children while Gerry was already in the UK. The McCANN'S returned to Portugal on 15th July.(rest of information same as above)
unquote
So Michael Wright apparently flew to PdL on  Thursday the 12th and out again with Kate and the twins on Friday 13th. On Saturday the 14th the baptism of  Michael and Anne-Marie Wright’s two children, a girl and a boy, aged 8 and 10 took place against - as we shall see -  all the rules of the RC church. (2)
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The baptism: 
From ‘madeleine’: 
That weekend, the children and I flew out to the UK and were joined by Gerry in Yorkshire. Michael and Anne-Marie had asked us to stand as godparents to their children. Katie and Patrick had never been baptized as babies, and I think the decision to do this now had perhaps been precipitated by what had happened to us. It had concentrated everyone’s minds on how fragile life is, how it can be wrecked in an instant. 
Naturally, we badly wanted to be at the baptism. I had not set foot in the UK since Madeleine’s abduction and although for me this was an emotional journey, it was not the same as ‘going home’. The press, however, were bound to see it that way, and we were worried they would turn up in force and spoil this family occasion. 
So with the cooperation of the authorities in both countries, we kept it under the radar, and, thanks to the police, for once we managed to stay one step ahead of our media shadows, much to their annoyance. Instead the church was patrolled by police - Skipton, Michael declared, had never seen so many - a rather more reassuring and less intrusive presence. unquote
 ‘...we wanted to be at the baptism’  is a very strange remark. As both of them were standing godparent they simply had to be there. 
 The following information from a Roman Catholic website. in all cases the baptism takes place as part of the three initiation sacraments at the Easter Vigil Mass after at least a year of  instruction preceding the baptism, which cannot have taken place in this case.  The last two quotes are from a priest. (3)
Quote:
My sister is a lapsed Catholic who didn't have her kids baptized as infants. She eventually [..] gave consent for the kids to participate in a child's version of the RCIA when her kids were 7 & 9 years old. I was one of the Godparents/Sponsors as I am a Catholic but active.The kids went through the required formation classes and received all 3 initiation sacraments at the Easter Vigil Mass. They were in a class with about 4 or 5 other children ages 7 to 13 years old that most had to have all 3. Only 1 or 2 did not need baptism, they needed Confirmation and First Communion.
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My youngest son will turn 10 at the end of the month and he's in RCIC on an alternating schedule with CCD. He'll be baptized, confirmed and make his first Holy Communion at Easter Vigil. 
--------------------
These were answers from a Catholic Priest:
There should be at least a year of pre-catechumenate or inquiry, where he is introduced (according to his learning and grade level) to the basics of the salvation story in the bible, the person of Jesus Christ, the basic beliefs and practices of the Catholic Church, and when he is ready, through the Rite of Acceptance, begin the catechumenate not less than one year before the Easter in which he will be received.

A child who has reached the age of discretion (generally age 7) is considered an adult, no longer an infant, for the purposes of the Sacraments of Initiation (Baptism, Confirmation, First Communion). He will participate in the Children's Catechumentate, that is RCIA (Rites of Christian Initiation) with his peers, and be received into the Catholic Church during the Easter Vigil through all of these sacraments, and continue with faith formation throughout his school years, and hopefully as an adult as well. He will prepare for his first confession some time after Easter. unquote

Easter  wasn’t in July in 2007. So what on earth is going on here?
The officiating priest at St. Stephens in Skipton was Father Peter Dawbner, Parish priest at St Stephen's RC Church in Skipton, North Yorkshire. 

The Wright children appear to have had no time to prepare for their baptism according to the rules. The reason given (how fragile life is) doesn’t convince me that that was enough to bend the stringent rules for baptism of children over the age of 7. 
There are measures in place in the RC faith to baptize pretty well anyone in an emergency should such have arisen for the Wright children. 
I would imagine that a parish priest would not be able to bend the rules in this manner and a much higher authority would have to be involved. 
However, why does Kate write that they really wanted ‘to be’ at the baptism? They had to be there for the thing to take place. If it did.

Even if this christening was organised well before the 3rd of May 2007, even if the required instruction had taken place over the previous year, it appears that such a ceremony is only performed at Easter. 

The problem here is clear: are we to believe that the rules for accepting children over the age of 7  into the faith were  changed on this occasion?   I find it easier to believe that there was no christening at all.  

So what did take place on the 14th of July 2007 in St. Stephen’s church in Skipton?
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Gerry’s blog: 14th July 2007
Kate, the twins and myself attended a family baptism today in Yorkshire where we stood as Godparents. At the end of the short service, which was lovely, prayers were said for Madeleine. [..] ..and it was great to see so many family members together. 
Gerry’s blog: 15th July 2007
Travelled back to Portugal today on an early morning flight. [..] My mum and sister have also come out for a few days so we managed to see a lot of family this weekend. unquote
A lot of family members together but no further details. A very unusual christening if there was one at all and at the end of it Gerry’s mother and sister travel  back to PdL with them. 
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The press:
As for the press  - there was no press to speak of  some weeks earlier during all of Gerry’s adventures and no photographs - arriving at airport, or anywhere.
So  this time there was lots of police, more than Skipton had ever seen before, ever, it seems. Just to keep the press out.  Wouldn’t the good people of Skipton have noticed this activity? Would nothing about this unprecedented police protection have filtered into the press anywhere? Apparently not. 

The christening was in the press as from the 16th.  The Daily Mail ran a short story on the 16th, other papers on the same date or the 17th July. 
The Daily Mail: ‘.. Mrs McCann said: "Yesterday was an emotional day. We were reunited with family to celebrate welcoming two children into the Catholic faith.
 Gerry and I wanted to be there, to take part and to support our godchildren on one of the most important days of their lives.’ unquote
Again, a strange statement. They were essential to the ceremony, without them it could not take place unless the Wrights had emergency replacement godparents. 
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Summary:

A great improvement on the previous visit. Guest of Honour of the police, tour of CEOP and probably an in-depth discussion on the European problem of missing children.  The theme is still ‘European’ but can Global be far behind? 

Gerry gets a standing ovation from the Police Federation where he was guest of honour. 
He  forgets to mention anywhere that  he went to see Sir Christopher Meyer and got the bad news that they didn’t do money.  But the good news  that the courts might find a way. 
He spent some considerable time at CEOP’s headquarters and this may  also have been the occasion when he was given the Scotland Yard manual which the PJ later found on his bedside table. 
Gerry and Jim Gamble may also have gone through the 1800 holiday photos sent to the dedicated  CEOP website. The photos the PJ never got to see.  
He stood godfather  (should have been sponsor as well I  think) to Michael Wright’s daughter. 

This is merely speculation on my part, but during this period it seems Gerry is finally moving up in the world. No rackety planes flying them to an uninterested Morocco, no inconvenient questions from journalists. This time he is the honoured guest, complementing the police on their work. Things are under control and control is what Dr. Gerald seems to want most of all. 
Interviews are scheduled and rehearsed, photo opportunities for the press are arranged on family days when the creche is closed and the twins are exhibited (no pixellated faces anywhere) on ‘family’ outings, such as a zoo or a walk through PdL.

Gerry is getting close the the role he wants, but it seems there isn’t one for Kate as yet .
Kate is not so happy . She notes that the journey to the UK is ‘emotional’ without clarifying why.  Her diary is gloomy, there is no mention of  Michael Wright making a special trip to help her with the twins during the flight to the UK. Her mood here does seem to be sliding towards the dream which led her to phone the PJ  whilst Gerry was in the US. The dream Gerry said she never had. As he memorably told the press in Rome: ‘taking control of this... of this smallest decisions helps you cope and think rationally and influence things around you and that, I think, is the most important thing.’
So far, so good. 

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1) fytton.blogspot.nl (november 2014)

Monday 14 September 2015

GERRY'S TRIP TO THE UK - 19 - 20TH JUNE 2007

According to the diary, it all looked very promising for the next trip home: 

KATE’S DIARY -SUNDAY,  JUNE 17: Cherie Blair (then the Premier's wife) phoned to find out how we were.
We talked about everything in general, including about them leaving Number 10. She agreed as well to make a 20-second video clip for our broadcast on YouTube about Madeleine and children who have disappeared.
I also had the chance to speak to Tony (then Prime Minister) who told me that we weren't to hesitate to ask him if there was something he could do to help. unquote
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19th June 2007: 
Gerry McCann arrives just before midday at Gatwick, London. 
This visit to the UK lasts some 36  hours which are full of interest and incident. 

First: Dr. McCann saves the life of an octagenarian midway on the flight from Faro to Gatwick. Reports vary: the man fainted and Gerry offers assistance or the man was given oxygen and Gerry saved his life. 

Gerry’s Blog: Day 47 - 19/06/2007 - Tuesday
Flew in to London to for a series of meetings. Helped a passenger on the flight who collapsed. He was ill enough to require a full assessment on arrival and went off to hospital in an ambulance.
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The Irish Independent ran the story on the 21st:  


The father of Madeleine McCann helped to save the life of a fellow passenger who had collapsed on his flight to London - then had his wallet stolen shortly after landing. unquote

No report of an ambulance awaiting the stricken passenger. 
No other passengers getting their bit of publicity in ‘because they were there!’ 
No airline honoured to have had the life-saver on board. 
No captain or steward/stewardesses telling the media anything at all. 

The only source for this event is Gerry’s blog.
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Second: (From the same blog entry) 
Unfortunately shortly after arriving in London I had my wallet stolen which meant I was running late. I did manage to get to all my meetings which ran late into the evening.[..]

Questions: 
Waterloo Station is definitely not where one arrives from Gatwick, one arrives at Victoria Station. However, the Law Courts are just across the bridge and I believe the Ward of Court issue would certainly have needed the presence of at least one parent to discuss the matter, so that is one possibility. 

The Evening Standard reported that London police had said they 'had no record of the theft being reported to officers'. In addition, Clarence Mitchell confirmed that Gerry had attended a meeting at London's foreign office, on Tuesday, but 'could not immediately confirm details of the theft'. ( source: Mccannfiles.com)

According to Philomena, Gerry took £ 100,- out of the ATM and lost it when putting something in his rucksack.
Although according to Mrs. Healey,  ‘Gerry is not clear exactly how his wallet was stolen’. 

Dr. Roberts 1) has pointed out that the sequence of events makes no sense. Not a strong point in any of the McCann stories.  
Furthermore, losing your bank- and  credit cards means notifying your bank and police at the very least and this is quite time-consuming as anyone who has ever lost a wallet will know. 
But then the PJ were notified that they had no credit or debit cards.  2)

But from the summary of the ‘Truth of the Lie’ (McCannfiles.com):
74 - The time of the questioning of the McCanns is close and Stuart Prior seems nervous. The PJ also wished to re-question the whole group. Very little info on the McCanns arrives regarding their financial situation. According to UK authorities the McCanns have no credit card or ATM cards. However, the flights had been paid with credit cards so the PJ knew they had them. unquote

Day 57 - 29/06/2007 - Friday [...]
Our friends brought back my wallet which had been returned, needless to say minus the Sterling, although all my cards and €30 were still in it! It is good to have my driving license back and one or two other important things.

The timeline of the return of the wallet is a little strange - it involves several postings (London to Queeniborough then on to Rothley).  Normal procedure  for most pickpockets is to post the wallet in any postbox, the post office passes them to the police. Who eventually find the owner. Or not. 
But supposing a posting by mail, supposing a second posting to Rothley, supposing friends from Amsterdam on their way to Portugal to play golf (several flights a day from Schiphol to Algarve) - and coincidentally, the two precious photos are from  Amsterdam: John McCann: ‘Gerry had his wallet stolen en there were two pictures of Madeleine taken when they lived in Amsterdam’  - that would all  have to happen within 9/10 days.




Those 30 Euros,  definitely worth twenty pounds at the time  and Marks & Spencers  do not charge commission.  Unless this was a subtle way to remind the faithful that Euro (rubbish from rubbish country) wasn’t even worth stealing but Sterling! (note the capital letter) was. 3)


The only source is Gerry’s blog,  subsequently his relatives and Mitchell who didn’t know exactly...
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The blog informs us further: 
We are exploring the use of new media and using local advertising, particularly in Europe. 
Unquote
Would this be the occasion when Bell Pottinger were paid half a million to keep Maddie on the front pages?  Considering that the incidents were something for the press to work with (Dr. McCann saves life and Dr. McCann is robbed of precious   - photographs of Maddie stolen!) they did not appear on  all the front pages and front pages were what Lord Bell appears to have promised and achieved. ( see post 13th May: Press and the McCanns).


Day 48 - 20/06/2007 - Wednesday
Another busy day of meetings this time in Leicester. No mishaps thankfully.The main meeting was that of Maddeleines(sic) fund where we discussed implementing a strategy to maintain our campaign to find Madeleine. [..] We are delighted with the response to the 50th day balloon launch which will truly be a global event. There will be a few variations to the release of balloons however. In Ventura, Southern California, 50 white doves will be released and in Afghanistan kite racing, an activity banned under the Taliban, will be the order of the day. Unquote
The 50 day ‘global’ event may not have been that global, but we are informed about far-flung parts of the world such as Afghanistan where the wording gives the impression that there is a political link to this kite-flying. Certainly a plug for a successful liberation of oppressed Afghanistan and surely New Labour would have approved of this pat on the shoulder from the great man.   Another interpretation is that they were flying kites in Afghanistan anyway, because that’s what they like to do. The number 50 isn’t mentioned and I for one cannot believe hat Afghanistan kite-flyers were that well informed. Which would have made it an ideal country to visit with the left-over posters in Arabic from Morocco.
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KATE’S DIARY: WEDNESDAY, JUNE 20: [..]Went to pick up Gerry from the airport. It was so good to see him. Just before we reached the apartment we saw a man lying in the middle of the street, so we stopped the car and got out. It was no surprise to see that he was drunk (we've all been there!) but he recognised Gerry and me immediately. Gerry walked him round to his apartment.

11 - Processo Vol 11 Page 2945 to 2956.
In a letter direct to Goncalo Amaral from DCCB dated 27th September 2007 (Vol 11 Page 2945 - pt5): 
[..]
-  With regard to the possible sighting of arguido Gerry McCann next to a pink coloured block of apartments at a site opposite the Luz cemetery, we can inform you that this is an establishment called ‘St. James Portuguesa Lda’, lots 1 and 2 being situated in the positions mentioned, from the outside the spaces corresponding to Lot 1 can be seen of a total of apartment designated as floors: 101-104, 111-114, 121-124, 105-109, 115-119, 125-129. 
in Lot 2 there are some apartments with T3 typology.
the buildings in question have 3 pavements, whose access to the different areas is visible from the outside, as they consist of an open perimeter and there are several commercial establishments at ground level.  
In view of the number of buildings and given the scarce information provided it does not seem to us to be viable, immediately, to take measures to prove or disprove the elements provided. 
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Returning from Faro airport, the most likely route is A22, N120, N125 from there take a left on M537-1. turn right into R. do Cemiterio or carry on over the crossing  on R. Primero de Maio where the OC is almost immediately on the left. 
Is it possible that the drunk in the road was the explanation given before the question is asked? From the above quoted letter it seems clear that the PJ had fairly detailed information, that is: type of apartment, the location and the access being visible from outside appear to be part of the information given to the PJ. 



Gerry went to the UK to find another Press officer, but we hear nothing about Justine McGuinness from the blog until later. The  meeting of the directors of the Ltd.Co. however is interesting in view of the fact that the publicity seems to have been dying down. No photographs of the trip, no witnesses to a life-saving event interviewed by anybody.
Despite the claims that the McCanns were constantly surrounded by photographers and press, there is not one photograph of this trip. 
Perhaps that arrangement with Bell Pottinger was very necessary, only 50 days into the new lifestyle and the press seemed to have lost interest.  There was no follow-up from the press ( e.g. interview with Dr. McCann on his life-saving technique)  no front page news. 

Of interest is that - despite having been told to ask the Blairs for help anytime - there is no mention of a meeting between Gerry and Blair, although the Evening Standard has  Gerry’s wallet stolen in Whitehall, not Waterloo.
Surely this was  a golden opportunity to plead with them to let them have Clarence Mitchell on indefinite loan? 






Further reading: 

1) Mccannfiles.com  I-wanna-tell-you-a-story  Dr. Roberts March 2011 ----  http://www.mccannfiles.com/id356.html

2) http:// gazetadigitalmadeleinecase.blogspot.com:
Gerry McCann used two credit cards according to information from DI Gary Watts, from Leicestershire Constabulary, to Frances Kennah, head of UK Central Authority, a Home Office department in charge of the cooperation with foreign police forces [..] A previous report about the financial situation of the McCann couple and their friends, produced by the Economic Crime Unit from Leicestershire Constabulary, found no records of credit cards or loans from Kate and Gerry McCann. A request sent by PJ to British Authorities, asking for details about Gerry McCann’s credit card transaction for a period of six months, starting on April 1, six weeks before Madeleine’s disappearance, was considered disproportionate by Frances Kennah, the Head of UK Central authority.

3) http://jillhavern.forumotion.net/t5453-gerry-mccanns-credit-cards?highlight=credit+cards